I was that kid with car magazines littering his bedroom floor and a sore neck from hunching over them for hours at a time. Now I drive cars and write about them, with a sore neck from hunching over a computer.
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Early on in my career, I was a contributor to Car Design News, and design continues to be one of my favorite subjects. In addition to the auto sector, I have expertise in technology, finance and marketing, having been an editor at several national magazines covering those topics.
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Design Disasters: Three Ways Cars Are Getting Worse

A pothole more the size of a cauldron appeared from beneath the bumper of the Ford van I was following several car lengths behind onto the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

The driver ahead slammed on his brakes and swerved to avoid it. He failed—and so did I.

But where the van’s beefy tires shrugged off the impact, the low-profile rubber on the 18-inch wheel of the Audi A5 I was driving just buckled.

When the right front rim violently struck bottom, it felt and sounded like a shotgun blast. A bag on the seat next to me leapt into the air and spewed its contents all over the passenger footwell. Still rolling forward, I found myself in the middle of fast-moving traffic on a busy New York City highway, a $180 front tire tugging at the steering wheel as it quickly deflated.

Wheels have been getting increasingly larger and wider, and not just on sports cars—regular ones, too.

They look cool and make the car grip the road better, so it can take turns faster and stop shorter. But the tradeoff is a pricier tire with a smaller sidewall that is less resilient to bumps and potholes.

What’s worse is that many new cars, including budget-minded ones like the Hyundai Elantra, are sold without a spare tire and jack now, to save weight and cost. You can usually add them as an option, though.

BMW 3 Series sedan - Credit: BMW

Others, like the BMW 3 Series I drove a couple of years ago, have “run flat” tires with beefed up sidewalls. In theory, they allow you to keep driving when the tire is punctured.

I wasn’t a fan of them until hitting a huge pothole in that BMW, this time on the Grand Central Parkway. The reaction was as violent as in the Audi—a coffee tumbler got launched into the air on this occasion—but the tire stayed inflated.

When I got home, I found a two-inch gash right above the edge of the rim, much like on the Audi A5’s tire, only it didn’t go all the way through the rigid sidewall. You could see the tough woven fibers had kept it intact.

But there’s a downside to run-flats too: They create a more jarring ride. And on that 3 Series, which was already tightly sprung to begin with, the teeth-rattling discomfort started to overshadow the car’s otherwise stellar driving dynamics by the end of my week with it.

It wasn’t until driving an Infiniti G25 sedan recently that it struck me how truly stupid this trend toward larger wheels is. The G25 has 17-inch wheels with tires that have only half an inch more sidewall than the Audi A5’s.

Infiniti G25 - Credit: Infiniti

What a difference that half inch makes.

Sure, the steering was sharper on the Audi, but the Infiniti’s slightly taller tires easily absorbed holes and bumps in the pavement that I would’ve had to dodge in the Audi. For the peace of mind taller tires bring, I will gladly give up the minor improvement in steering feel on a daily driver.

Large rims are overrated on cars used for everyday transport. In fact, to me, they’re a liability that costs more money and causes more stress than they’re worth.

Go for the 20-inchers if you’re getting a Corvette or Ferrari. Otherwise, I recommend avoiding all the pricey wheel and tire upgrades available on so many regular cars.

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I assert in my brief 2009 article “Ingress/Egress – Better Vehicles for Tall Drivers” that roof height is only a partial factor of ingress\egress. Also significant is the measurement between the seat cushion and the roof line; The greater the distance, the better the ingress/egress.

Ironically, some of the vehicles which are most difficult to squeeze into are also some of the tallest: full-size pickups. The distance between a modern pickup’s seats and roof-line is often minimal, so to squeeze into a modern full-size 4×4 pickup without hitting the ol’ noggin, one may have to perform the spine-tingling acrobatics of stepping-up WHILE scrunching-down! Eeeek!

The soon-to-be-retired Honda Element, on the other hand, features a tall roofline AND a human-realistic seat height, providing incredible dimensions for easy entry and exit. The Element was indeed popular with ‘grandparents’ and others seeking car-like handling combined with generous ingress\egress dimensions. Other comfortable alternatives to low-slung sedans may include the Nissan Cube, Kia Soul, and Subaru Forester.

I bought the 2010 Subaru Legacy over several GM cars of that year largely because the entry and exit was easier and the windows higher. It is not only easier to get in and out, but the exterior appearance is in better proportion with the higher side windows.

A PR person at NHTSA just confirmed that the agency does not mandate the height of belt lines on cars as part of its side impact standard FMVSS 214. Rather, it measures performance for crash protection from side impacts and leaves it up to the manufacturers to set the height of belt lines.

Interesting. I agree about the tires. Low sidewalls are great on a great road, but for an everyday driver in the city, like Boston or NYC, you are really paying for it, in a harsh ride, dinged rims and split sidewalls.

As for the high beltline, I can understand your distaste for the style, but I really didn’t understand the blindspot issue. You shouldn’t need to look out the rear side windows. You use your mirrors, properly adjusted to eliminate blindspots. I know 90% of drivers have no idea how to properly adjust their side mirrors, but I assume that someone writing about cars would. Of course, maybe your blindspot issue was something else, but it’s not really clear if it is.

Try one out and let me know how well those mirrors help you site cars two lanes over, because your peripheral vision won’t be able to detect them, thanks to the car’s absurdly raked belt line and down-sloping roof.